Merchandising of beverages, such as beer, soft drinks, etc., in four, six, or eight packs has become increasingly popular with retailers because of convenience, cost, and esthetic appeal. Such packs, normally include carriers formed from one or more blanks of foldable sheet material (e.g., paperboard having one surface thereof suitable for printing and graphic indicia). The style and size of the carrier may vary over a wide range; however, there are certain important criteria for such carriers: namely, (a) it must be inexpensive and compact; (b) it must be capable of withstanding abusive treatment when subjected to normal handling by the wholesaler, the retailer and the customer; (c) it must be sturdy and suitable for stacking; (d) it must be convenient and comfortable for being manually carried; (e) it must be of simple construction and capable of being loaded by high-speed automatic loading equipment commonly used by bottlers and the like; (f) the carrier must provide adequate protection for the accommodated articles (e.g., bottles) in accordance with recognized packaging standards; and (g) with the advent in many locales of required use of returnable bottles and other containers, there is a need for a carrier which is capable of conveniently accommodating a plurality of the bottles or containers when empty and thereby greatly facilitate the handling of same by the customer.
Various carriers of this general type have heretofore been provided; however, because of certain inherent design characteristics they have fallen short of meeting all of these criteria.
One of the more critical problems heretofore encountered relates to the carrier handle being highly susceptible to tearing when the loaded carrier is subjected to normal handling. Such tearing is caused in part by the thinness or other inherent physical characteristics of the paperboard material normally used in forming the carrier blank. Remedies toward resolving this problem have included increasing the thickness of the paperboard utilized; reinforcing the handle with inserts affixed thereto; and/or changing the configuration of the carrier itself. Such remedies, however, are beset with one or more of the following serious shortcomings: (a) the thicker paperboard material significantly increased the material costs of the carrier; (b) the carrier blank with the reinforced handle was of a complex configuration and was difficult and awkward to set up with high-speed automatic equipment, and (c) the carrier was unstable and uncomfortable to manually carry.